Captured Beauty
by xXKyLiE.0410Xx
Summary: After being captured by the AAO at the age of five, Mikan, who is now fifteen, becomes their very own killing machine, or so they thought. One day, she was given a mission to kill Alice Academy's trump card, Natsume Hyuuga. But a small mistake will end up turning her life around!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! I'm new here so I don't know much about writing yet so..please go easy on me. Anyway, hope you enjoy it! Oh..and don't forget to review if you have the time to do so!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.**

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**Chapter 1**

_A loud knocking on the door disrupted the Yukihira family's peaceful sleep. Izumi Yukihira checked who the visitors are through the digital door viewer. _

_"Who are you people?", Izumi asked the men in black suit who were standing outside his house._

_"We're from AAO. We need to talk to Yukihira Izumi", one of the men in black said._

_'AAO?', Izumi wondered. He never knew anything about this AAO and from their looks, he knew that they were up to no good. But he doesn't want to make them know that he knew of their dangerousness so instead he said, "You know, it's the middle of the night right now. Could you come back tomorrow instead?"._

_But to his surprise, the men refused his offer. They immediately knocked the door of it's hinges. They walked into the Yukihira's house and scanned the area. Izumi, seeing where this is going, quickly blocked their way. He has the nullification alice so he can't do much but he knew he must protect his family even if it means dying._

_"I won't let you harm my family!", he declared._

_Then, one of the men caught him by surprise as he suddenly slipped behind Izumi and stabbed him with a knife. Izumi fell on his knees as blood gushed out of his wound. He was coughing up blood but he managed to stand up once again to ask them their objective."What exactly do you want from my family? If you need money, I could give you everything you want. Just..*cough*..don't hurt my family"_

_"Why you piece of ****!", one of the men in black kicked the spot where he had stabbed Izumi. Izumi squirmed in pain and coughed up more blood._

_"Stop it, Ayato. We'll have to keep him alive if we want information out of him", the more composed man said as he crouched beside the squirming Izumi._

_"We came here because we're ordered by our boss to retrieve a certain treasure. This treasure is highly needed by our organization. And this 'certain treasure' happened to be your one and only daughter, Yukihira Mikan. So do you mind telling us where she is? Atleast before you die?", the composed man asked Izumi._

_Izumi managed to sit up when the pain from his open wound temporarily lessened. He asked the man to come closer to him and the man did as he was asked. Izumi then did the craziest thing! He spat right on the man's face which earned him a deadly glare from all three guys. The guy whom he spat on stood up and turned away. He pat the other men's shoulders before saying, "Finish him off"._

_Yuka saw the whole thing but her feet were deeply rooted on the ground in wanted to help her husband but she knew that if she does so now,Mikan will surely be in danger. 'If I show up now, they will take Mikan. I..I have to save her! I'm sorry, Izumi. I'll be with you soon but for now, I have to save our daughter so that your sacrifice wouldn't be in vain", she then quickly but quietly dashed to Mikan's bedroom to take her away from the bad guys. _

_"Mikan..", her mom's voice and constant shaking woke a five-year-old Mikan from her sleep. _

_"Mom? What's wrong?", she asked after seeing her mom's worried face._

_"I'll explain later. We have to take you out of her right here for-", her mom halted when she heard footsteps coming. She quickly grabbed Mikan's wrist and dragged her to a nearby closet._

_"Mikan, stay her for now. Mom will come back for you later. For now, don't make a noise and just stay here, ok?". Mikan nodded in comprehension as her mom pulled her inside the closet and locked the closet door from the outside. _

_As soon as the closet door locked, Mikan heard the door of her room slam open once again._

_"Who are you people?!", Yuka asked as she pointed a gun in the men's direction. _

_"Where's Yukihira Mikan?", one of the men asked-well, more like, demanded._

_"My daughter's not here! She's at my brother's house. Now leave before you end up dead", Yuka threatened as she pointed her gun at the men in front of her._

_The next thing Mikan heard was a loud gun fire. She lost consciousness due to extreme fear._

_-end of flashback-_

A fifteen-year-old brunette walked through the AAO hallways looking as serious and emotionless as always. All the guys she passed by blushed after seeing her in her usual get up: a plain white tank top, camouflaged shorts that shows off her long, skinny, porcelain white skin, and of course, her black army boots she loves so much. She stopped in front of her boss's office and sighed before entering.

"Good morning, my little killing machine", the boss greeted her with a smile in his face.

"Shiki, would you please stop calling me that already? I _have_ a name", the brunette told him in an irritated manner.

The man who looked like he's in his 30's replied with a smile, "Sorry about that, _Mikan_. But really, you've become quite a monster after training for ten years. You actually managed to kill more than 2,999 men within ten years and your victim yesterday happened to be your 3000th victim. It's just a shame you refuse to kill innocent people, including children".

"What _exactly _do you need?", Mikan asked, brushing the topic away.

Shiki's face became serious. He gave Mikan a folder containing her next mission. "Your next mission is to dispose of Alice Academy's trump card, Natsume Hyuuga".

Mikan scanned through the file in her folder and read each and every piece of information on her next target._ 'Natsume Hyuuga?..Black Cat? Now 'this' is interesting.._', she thought deep inside her head.

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**How was that? Hoped you guys like it! Anyway, I would really like to hear what you thought about it so please review! Thanks! ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hola everyone! Hope you like this chapter! Btw, I would like to thank 'Iron Mikan Frost-Elric-Uzumaki' for being the first one to review my first chapter! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.**

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**Chapter 2**

Mikan returned to her room earlier than she thought she would. She just couldn't take the guys gawking at her with their mouth wide open when she's outside so she, instead, went to her safe haven and decided to stay there until she's called out for the mission. Shiki decided that the operation will commence at 6 in the evening so everyone is free for the time.

_'Hmm..what should I do for the mean time?'_, she asked herself as she looked around her room. She then spotted her shelves filled with different scented bath wash and shampoos and decided to take a long bath.

After thirty minutes, she came out the bathroom wearing black baggy pants, a grey loose tank and black sneakers. She used her towel to dry her hair and as she was doing that, her attention was captured by the folder on her desk. She opened it once again to reveal the face of a certain raven-haired lad. She went through his data once again and noticed how he's kind of similar to her. Having no parents at all, and being used by the people around them. She somehow noticed that they also share some similarities in terms of personality and abilities._ 'I see. This person's smart, huh? I should be careful around him, or I'm pretty much dead..'_, she thought.

She then spent the rest of her time preparing her weapons. She practiced skillfully and quickly recharging her gun and pointing it to her target for several times. She also made sure to bring all the things she'll need if she ever gets injured. The last thing she did was to change into her mission outfit: a grey fitted shirt topped by a black hooded jacket, black jeans, and of course, her black military boots **(I wonder if she ever gets tired of those boots!...XD)**. She also put on her alice-limiting earrings, bracelet, and rings.

A knock on her door told Mikan that it was time. "Come in", she commanded as she started gathering her things.

"It's time, Sakura", a young man about the same age as her informed her.

"I know. I'm coming. You can go ahead of me, Shou", she replied back with her usual emotionless tone.

She thought he had gone but when she turned, he was right behind her. He casually took her bag and carried it and with a sideways glance, he said, "You better come back alive, Sakura".

Mikan stared at him, "I'm not gonna die from a puny mission like this, ok?". She was about to walk past him but he grabbed her arms and roughly turned her around.

"Sakura, this isn't like your usual missions! I know the guy you're about to face is a monster like yourself, too. The only difference now is that he's a _guy _and you're a _girl_! He is by far stronger than you physically! That guy could kill you!", Shou said with a very concerned and furious expression at the same time.

Mikan slapped his hand away from her. They've been childhood friends since she entered AAO but she doesn't fully understand yet why he is so exaggerated and overacting when it comes to her. She sighed, "I'm not gonna die, okay? Not until I kill the person who killed my parents. So please stop you're nagging. You sounded like my mother just now", she told him.

Shou smiled, "You never change". He then playfully swung his arm around Mikan's shoulder but as he expected, she quickly brushed his arm off her shoulders. "Shut it, Shou, before I kill you". Shou laughed and playfully put his hands up, "I give up". Mikan slightly smiled before dragging Shou by the collar of his shirt until they reached the car.

When she got off the car, Mikan immediately reviewed their strategy in her head before tapping Shou's shoulders, signaling him to do what he has to. Shou nodded at her and touched the wall of the academy's gates. He concentrated his energy on it and after a few seconds, an opening in the academy's barrier was made. Mikan hurriedly entered through the hole and the hole immediately closed. After all, Shou's alice can only open it for ten seconds because if it lasted longer, they would've been found out by the school.

Mikan sneaked around the academy, practically avoiding the patrolling guards. It took her 15 minutes to reach the middle school division boys' dormitory where our raven-haired lad is currently staying in._ 'Room 365..large golden star on white double door'_, she reminded herself as she took out a golden key that was supposed to open any kind of doors. **(A/N: The golden key is door key that was made by Mikan's fellow AAO member. It's a key that's able to change its form to the appropriate form that could unlock any door).**

Mikan walked through the dark eerie hallways of the academy until she found the room she was looking for. '_Room 365..this is it'_. She tried opening the door and much to her surprise, it was unlocked! Now _this_ intrigued Mikan. She entered the room cautiously and looked around. She found his bed and her eyes widened when she saw no one on it._ 'It's a trap'_, she thought. She spun around quickly, attempting to make an escape but instead, a pair or crimson red eyes met hers. She lost her balanced and fell on her butt.

"Who are you?", the crimson-eyed lad asked her in a threatening manner. He lighted a fire in his hand, ready to burn Mikan.

Mikan stood up and brushed herself clean from dirt. "You don't need to know since you'll die any-". Before she could finish her sentence, a ball of fire flew her way. She raised a hand and the fire immediately died down. Natsume stared at her in disbelief but he created a new one anyways. However, before he could threw it, Mikan disappeared right in front of him and reappeared next to him in a flash. She touched Natsume's arm and his fire immediately disappeared.

"What the hell did you do?", Natsume asked as he glared at the person before him. _'Hmph..since fire won't work, I'll have to resort to physical strength. Never thought a day like this would come'_, he thought.

Mikan was about to speak but she was caught off guard when Natsume suddenly tackled her and pushed her onto the floor. Her hood, that was supposed to keep her from exposing her whole face, fell out of place. Natsume's eyes widened and narrowed at the same time after seeing a beautiful, almost angelic_, _face in front of him.

Mikan struggled to get away from him. She squirmed to get away from him but, just like what Shou said, he really is physically stronger than her. She then reached slowly for the weapons in her bag but before she could do so, Natsume quickly snatched her bag away from her and threw it in the corner away from them.

"Let go of me, idiot", Mikan demanded.

"Hell no, polka", Natsume retorted back.

Mikan had a confused expression on her face as she pondered on what he meant by 'polka'. She then realized that that was the underwear she was wearing today._ 'How the heck did he knew?'_, she thought.

As if Natsume read her mind, he immediately glanced at her lower half. Mikan followed his eyes and ended up seeing her top slightly pulled up and her polka-dotted underwear slightly peeking from under her black jeans. She blushed furiously and glared at Natsume, "You…you pervert!".

Because of her extreme fury, she suddenly gained the strength to push Natsume off of her and stand up. She dashed to her weapons and reached out to one of her sharpened daggers but before she could do so, Natsume grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the wall. He held her in place with his left hand while he reached for something in his drawers using his left hands. To make sure that Mikan wouldn't be able to kneed him in the-ahem-'you know where', he pressed his knees to Mikan's thighs. Mikan's breathe hitched as she felt the proximity of his body to hers. She felt somewhat uncomfortable but at the same time, she felt something stir in the deepest part of her soul which she didn't recognize. She was snapped from her trance when the raven-haired guy pulled out a handcuff and dragged Mikan near to his bed. Mikan protested but he was really too strong for her. He handcuffed one of Mikan's hands and swung the other side of the handcuff around his bed post, and locked Mikan's other hand in it.

Mikan glared at him continuously but he just ignored it and pressed the emergency button on the side of his door, next to the light switch. All the alarms in school went on a rampage and everyone was in chaos. Mikan managed to move her hands a bit and immediately pressed a button on her watch and whispered, "Leave".

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**Oh my..sorry for suddenly stopping like that. Anyway, what do you think will happen to our Mikan? Please review! ^_^ **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.**

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**Chapter 3**

"Leave", Mikan whispered onto her watch. She was careful not to let Natsume hear but..DAMN! That guy sure has good ears!

He quickly walked- well more like stomped- to Mikan and grabbed the watch off her wrist. He cursed under his breath and took out his phone. "It's Natsume. I caught the intruder but her accomplices must've escaped by now", he then hang up his phone.

Mikan stared at him in disbelief. _'Is he the same guy from the datas? He looks..a lot..powerful than her. She couldn't even fight to his level. Well..in terms of physical strength that is'_.

Natsume saw her looking at him so he crouched down beside her. "You..who do you work for?", he asked, his crimson red eyes boring right into her soul. Mikan flinched involuntarily. She turned her head away and refused to look at him but as if he was punishing her, Natsume cupped her chin and turned her face to him.

"Don't ignore me when I'm asking you something", he said threateningly.

Mikan tensed up but she quickly recovered. "Ha, you can't hurt me with your fire. I can just nulli-"

"You're alice won't work while you're handcuffed", he informed her while smirking slightly.

Mikan raised a n eyebrow at him, not sure what he meant. She then looked at the handcuffs and noticed that they're a bit different. As if she'd realized something, she snapped her attention to Natsume and glared hardly at him._ 'I really did mess with the wrong guy. This guy really is a monster'_.

A knock on the door broke the silence between the two. "Come in", Natsume said in a bored tone. And just as he finished speaking, the door opened and a blonde-haired young man came in. He looked about the same age as them. But what shocked Mikan was the fact that the guy was holding a white bunny._ 'Here comes another weirdo'_, she thought.

"Ruka, why are you so late?", Natsume asked as he grabbed a manga out of his bookshelf and started reading it.

"Shut up. Whose fault was it that the emergency bell rang and I was suddenly tackled by a horde of girls saying that they're scared and that _I _have to protect them? You were lucky you were in your room but I happened to be at the kitchen grabbing a drink. I almost got killed by those girls thanks to yo-", he stopped talking when he saw a brunette handcuffed to Natsume's bed post. He then turned to Natsume, "What _exactly _happened?", he asked.

"An intruder", Natsume simply answered as if it was no big deal.

Ruka stared at Natsume before looking at Mikan. "Are you serious?..But she looks so innocent and harmless", Ruka blurted out subconsciously.

Natsume sighed, "Don't underestimate her Ruka. Though she _did _lose to me, she's still fairly strong". This comment of his earned him a deadly glare from Mikan. "See?", Natsume said as he directed his best friend's attention to the glaring Mikan. Ruka gulped as he saw this, surprisingly, scary side of the brunette.

"But Natsume, did you already inform the teachers?", Ruka asked his crimson-eyed bestfriend.

"They're coming". As he said that, four teachers immediately opened the door and entered the room.

Mikan sighed, _'More oddballs'_. She was surprised to learn that Natsume has really sharp instincts but what surprised her more was the teachers. The first one was a man with fierce eyes wearing a pair of glasses. He has a stick in his hand. The second one was a blonde teacher that looks like a foreigner but the way he's dressed made him look like a gay cross-dresser. The third one was a woman wearing a Victorian dress. The last one was a man carrying a pot of plant.

"Jinno-sensei, Narumi-sensei, Serina-sensei, Misaki-sensei, why are all four of you here?", Ruka asked in a polite manner.

"To catch the intruder of course", Misaki-sensei answered.

"I already caught her. No need to bring too many people over", Natsume replied coolly

"You rude br-", Jinno was cut off when a soft and cold air blew at his ear. He shuddered all over his body and eventually fainted._ 'Shit, I forgot to drink the anti-pheromone pills'_, he cursed as his consciousness continued to fade.

"Sheesh, Jinno-sensei sure is hot-headed", Narumi, the blonde one, commented. He then spotted the brunette who was handcuffed to the bed post. He walked to her and lifted her chin up, checking every angle of her face. "You..look somewhat familiar".

A vein popped on Serina-sensei's head and she grabbed anything she could. She happened to grab the pot of plant Misaki was treasuring and threw it to Narumi. "Stop flirting with the girl, you damn playboy!"

Narumi was instantly knocked out by the pot of plant. Serina and Misaki then decided to drag Jinno and Narumi outside Natsume's room but before they left, Misaki turned to both Natsume and Ruka. "Take the girl and follow us. We're going to meet the principals."

The two nodded and they cautiously untangled Mikan from the bed post though they still kept her handcuffed.

It was already midnight but the four teachers, Natsume, Ruka, and of course, Mikan was still waiting for the three highschool principals.

Finally, the door opened and three beautiful figures came in. They sat next to each other in their respective seats. There were two blonde principals and one woman who had long, green, wavy hair.

"Now, what do we have here?", the ESP(Elementary School Principal), whose name was Shuichi, spoke first. He had medium length blonde hair and he looked too young for his position. He looked more like a highschool student.

"An intruder", Natsume answered looking bored.

"An intruder...huh?". All three of the principals stared at Mikan with a doubtful expression.

"If you're thinking she looks too innocent and harmless, you're mistaken. Drop your thoughts before she tries to kill you", Natsume told them.

The three looked at him in disbelief but after seeing Mikan glaring at him dangerously, they figured out that he may really be telling the truth. Besides, they're fully aware that no ordinary and harmless girl can just break through the school's barrier without getting noticed by the guards. In addition, she had fucking guns, and daggers with her! Now who could possibly believe that she's harmless?

Himemiya, the MSP(Middle School Principal), stared at Mikan with her green colored orbs. "Why is a pretty girl like you intruding Alice Academy? Who ordered you?", she asked.

Mikan didn't spoke one word. She stayed silently until the principals grew impatient. "You're from AAO, aren't you?", the HSP(High School Principal), Kazumi asked.

"I'm not telling you anything", Mikan told them with an expressionless face.

The MSP sighed, "Fine then". She then called Serina-sensei and whispered to her. "Bring _that_ brat here". Serina-sensei nodded and immediately left.

A few minutes later, Serina-sensei came back with a sleepy blonde-haired boy in tow. His appearance made Mikan somewhat uneasy though she doesn't know why._ 'Why did they call that boy?'_, she wondered.

"Koko, come here",the ESP commanded. Koko did as he was told and he sat next to the principals. "Do what you're good at", the ESP told him.

Koko had a confused expression at first but he complied anyway. The MSP questioned Mikan again, "You're working for AAO, aren't you?".

Mikan didn't answer but her thoughts did. Wait..WHAT?! He turned to the blonde boy seating next to the principals. He was speaking everything in Mikan's mind.

"There's no way in hell that I'm going to admit that I'm a member of AAO. Ah..wait..what?! Did I just hear my thoughts speaking for me? That boy...he's speaking everything I'm thinking!", Koko spoke the exact words Mikan had in her mind which surprised Mikan.

"I see", the MSP spoke. They finally got the answer that they wanted. She turned to the other principals, "Now, what should we do with her?".

The principals looked at each other. "Just threw her out of Alice Academy and into some deserted island", Natsume suggested, out of a sudden, which earned him another one of Mikan's glares.

The ESP and MSP considered that but the HSP couldn't help but notice something odd about this girl. "You have the nullification alice, don't you?", he asked.

Mikan stayed quiet and composed in an attempt not to answer but Koko, once again, answered for her. "HSP, she does own the nullification alice".

Natsume confirmed this and the three principals had a private meeting for a minute before returning in their seats. "It's been decided", Shuuichi, the ESP, announced. Mikan stared at them waiting their decision. The ESP pointed to her and with a firm voice, he said, "You...will be attending Gakuen Alice as a student and you will be Natsume's partner".

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**Hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey readers! By the way, thank you so much to those who followed, favorite, and review my story. **

**And oh! Just to clear up some possible misunderstandings, Kuonji (the ESP in the original Gakuen Alice) is replaced by Shuuichi Sakurano here. In this story, ESP was already thrown out of the academy with Luna's help. The war also happened five years before Mikan entered the academy and the previous highschoolers already graduated. I decided to put Shuuichi as the principal cuz he kinda suited the position. And don't worry, Subaru's here too. I might add Kuonji later in the story but I'm not sure yet.  
**

**Disclaimer: I DON'T own Gakuen Alice.**

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**Chapter 4**

The sunlight entered Mikan's room and gently caressed her face. She is currently in dreamland and gosh! Her dream was way over the top. She slightly smiled as she thought of how her dream was so absurd...

*BAKA..BAKA..BAKA*

Mikan's eyes shot open and she jumped off her bed, avoiding the incoming balls just in time. She reached to her sides for a weapon but to her dismay, she forgot that the happenings last night were not just a dream and that her weapons were taken into custody that very night. She then decided to brush the thoughts of last night from her head and seriously look at the person in front of her.

The girl in front of her had short black hair and amethyst eyes. _'She looks kind of familiar'_, she thought. After a few minutes, she finally realized who it was. "Ho..ta..ru?", she asked, a confused expression on her face.

"I see you've changed quite a bit, Mikan", the girl, whose name was Hotaru, replied in an emotionless manner.

Mikan remembered how Hotaru would always bully her and make her cry when they were kids using her invention. They were both five years old back then and they just met due to their parents' close friendship. But despite that, Hotaru was Mikan's very first childhood best friend.

Mikan stared intensely at Hotaru with narrowed eyes._ 'She hasn't changed one bit'_, she thought. And then, Mikan wondered why Hotaru's at the academy. "Why-", Mikan was cut off when Hotaru suddenly spoke.

"Before you ask any questions, get ready first. School will be starting in thirty minutes", Hotaru told her before turning around and leaving her room.

Mikan looked at her clock and found that Hotaru was right. She then quickly scanned the large room for a bath towel and her clothes. She opened the walk in closet and was astonished when she saw hundreds of clothes either hanged or folded. She also found sneakers, heels, and boots in the lower sections of the shelves. _'They're my exact size'_, she thought as she tried on a pair of sneakers. She then look around once again and saw her uniform and towel hanging on a nearby cabinet. She grabbed them and proceeded to the bathroom.

It took her a mere ten minutes to get prepared from head to toe. She let her hair down this time. Seriously, tying her hair this time would probably just worsen her head ache so she decided to let her hair loose. It's not that bad though since she still looked innocent and sweet with her hair down. _'Just like ten years ago'_, she thought as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. The only thing that different now is her expression. Her smiles have been extinct ever since she started training.

The sound of voices and giggling outside the window snapped her out of her thoughts. She walked to the window and opened the blinds slightly. She saw the students leaving the dorm. She took a quick glance at the clock sitting on her bedside table. _'It's time'_. And with that, she grabbed her bag and headed out the dorm.

Just as she stepped out of the dorm, she saw Hotaru standing outside. She kept on looking at her watch with a somewhat irritated expression on her face. Mikan walked down the stairs and tapped Hotaru's shoulder. "Hotaru", she called.

Hotaru turned around to look at her and Mikan swore that if a glare could kill, she would already be dead by now. "You took too long. Now we only have 10 minutes to get the class", Hotaru complained. She then pulled out a remote control from her bag and dialed some kind of code on it. A few seconds later, a mini car that resembles a giraffe came. Hotaru hopped in.

"Come on you idiot. Hop in if you don't want to be late for your first day at school", Hotaru invited.

Mikan hopped in just as Hotaru instructed though she was kind of reluctant. _'Who said I want to go to this school anyway? If I had a choice, I would rather be sent off to some deserted island than be here"_, she thought. She then stared at her best friend who was busy controlling the mini car. _'Then again, going to this school might not be so bad since Hotaru's here'_.

Ten minutes later, she and Hotaru finally arrived at the middle school building. As Hotaru and Mikan walked through the path leading to the building, Hotaru noticed that they were somewhat being watched by _a lot _of people, especially the guys. She turned to look at them and they either looked away or scrambled in fear that they would get hit by Hotaru's infamous 'Baka Gun'.

"Hotaru, what's wrong?", Mikan asked when she noticed that Hotaru stopped walking.

Hotaru stared at her with a somewhat dumbfounded expression on her face. _'I can't believe this girl. She didn't notice those intense stares she's receiving from the guys? Or was she, perhaps, trying to ignore it?'_, Hotaru thought to herself. She then shrugged off the thought and continued walking along side Mikan.

When they entered the building, more eyes watched them. The two ignored it as usual and Hotaru lead Mikan to the staff room.

"Narumi-sensei, Mikan's here",Hotaru announced as she entered the staff room. Narumi, who was sitting leisurely on the couch, immediately stood up to greet the two.

"Oh..good morning, Imai-san! And hello, new student Sakura Mikan-chan. From this day on, I will be your new homeroom teacher. I hope we get along well!", Narumi beamed at the two.

Hotaru rolled her eyes at him and then gathered her things. "I don't want to be late so I'm going on ahead. Narumi-sensei, I'm leaving Mikan with you", she told them. She then turned around and was ready to leave but she glanced at Narumi once last time with a 'touch-her-and-your-dead' expression on her face. After making sure that Narumi got the message, she immediately left.

After Hotaru left, Narumi gathered his things. "Come on, Mikan-chan. We're heading to your new classroom.

The walk to Mikan's new classroom took quite a long time. She looked around the area and absorbed everything she could see. They stopped in front of a classroom with a sign hanging on the wall beside the door that says '3-B' a minute or two after the bell rang.

"Mikan-chan, stay here for a bit. I'm gonna call you when it's time for you to enter", Narumi instructed with the same cheerful voice he often uses.

The door opened and everyone in the room quieted down. "Good morning, my charming students! Today, like any other day, will be an individual study time. Before I leave, I would like to introduce our new student. Oh I'm sure you'll love her!", he announced in a very cheerful manner.

The students gasped after hearing the news about a new student. They were both excited and anxious to meet their new classmate except for Ruka, Natsume and Hotaru who already had an idea as to who it was.

"New student, please enter and introduce yourself", Narumi instructed.

Just as he said that, everyone eyed the door, waiting for the new student to come in. Then, the door slid open and a petite girl with wavy brown hair and hazel colored eyes came in. All the students, except for the three I just mentioned, dropped their jaws.

_'Dang! She looks like a model!'_

_'Is she an idol or something?'_

_'Dunno, but she could definitely pass for one'_

_'Do you think she has a boyfriend?'_

_'She must have one considering her looks. But if she doesn't, I'd definitely go for her!'_

Just like that, almost all the students in the classroom started whispering about her. If it weren't for Narumi's loud voice, they wouldn't have stopped.

"Quiet, everyone! I know you're excited about the new student but please let her introduce herself first", Narumi shouted in the classroom. Everyone shut their mouths and listened to what Mikan has to say.

Mikan stepped up and straightened her body. "I'm Sakura Mikan. Fifteen years old. It's nice to meet everyone here", she introduced in a monotonous voice.

The class fell silent after Mikan's introduction. They expected her to have a somewhat shy or timid personality but instead, they got an introduction that shows how confident and strong her personality is. The silence was broken when one girl with green permy hair spoke.

"May I ask what her alice is?", she asked.

Narumi turned to Mikan. "Mikan-chan, do you mind answering that question?", he asked.

Mikan sighed. "I have the nullification alice. It enables me to nullify any kind of alice attack. In short, I don't get affected by alices at all".

The students looked at her in amazement. They somehow thought that her alice was so amazing. Their curiosity about Mikan grew even more. Several hands shot up in the air, eager to ask a question.

Narumi sensed that Mikan was getting kind of ticked off so he decided to stop with the introduction part. "Okay! Everyone, no more questions. I believe Mikan-chan is already tired from standing too long so let's have her sit, shall we?". Narumi then scanned the room, looking for a suitable seat for Mikan. When he saw Natsume sitting at the far back, he smiled. "Mikan-chan, from this day on, you'll be sitting beside that guy who has a book covering his face. Please get along with him". And with that, Narumi bid goodbye and slipped out of the classroom.

Mikan walked to her new seat, ignoring the stares she's receiving from the students. On the way there, she spotted her best friend sitting at a table on the third row on the second column.

"Hey", she greeted as she passed by Hotaru's desk. Hotaru greeted her back and the students stared at the two with confused expressions on their faces.

_'Do they know each other?'_

_'Dunno. Maybe?'_

Mikan ignored the whispers and headed to her new seat. She sat next to the boy the teacher mentioned. She then glanced their way and noticed the blonde guy she had met yesterday sitting beside the boy she's sitting next to. "You-", she said pointing to the blonde guy who happened to be named Ruka.

"Nice to meet you again, Sakura-san", Ruka greeted back with a nervous smile on his face.

_'If that's the guy I met yesterday, then this guy I'm sitting next to must be that rude, crimson eyed guy with monster-like strength'_, she thought as she stared at the boy with a book on his face sitting next to her.

She then slightly nudged the arm of the boy sitting next to her with her elbow just for the sake of confirming her suspicion. Just as she did that, the boy moved and the book covering his face slipped revealing the same face he had first met yesterday night.

_'Tsk..this year will be troublesome'_, Mikan thought.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it! ^_^  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! Thank you to those who keeps on supporting my story. Anyway, I'm kind of new to this so please go easy on me. ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Natsume, who Mikan just nudged, woke up from his sleep with an irritated expression on his face. He turned to Mikan and with his cold glare still on her, he asked, "What do you want, _Polka_?".

Mikan's attention shot to Natsume. She glared at him but decided to let it go for now. _'Sigh..relax Mikan. There's no way you're making a scene on your first day'_, she reminded herself as she desperately tried to calm down. She then took out a book and started studying, in hopes that it will help her calm down.

"Hey, idiotic _Polka_. I'm talking to you", Natsume said once again.

Mikan's eyes twitched just as she heard what he had called her. "Stop calling me that", she hissed through gritted teeth. Natsume merely smirked at her reaction. "Whatever.._Polka_", he muttered, the smirk still on his lips.

Mikan felt her blood pressure rising up. She stared hard at Natsume._'Is he seriously trying to piss me off?! Agh…I can't stand him'_, she thought as she abruptly pushed her seat from the desk and stood up. "Forget this..I'm leaving. I have no plans of staying in the same room as this pervert", she muttered under her breath. She grabbed the book and walked to the door.

Ruka watched the whole thing unfold right before his very eyes. His eyes travelled from Mikan, who was already leaving, and to Natsume, who was nonchalantly reading his manga. "Natsume, aren't you gonna stop her? You're supposed to watch her every move, right? What if she escapes the acade-", Ruka rambled on in s whisper-like voice but was cut off when Natsume shut his manga book closed. "Ruka, stop being a worrywart. She can't break through the barrier. Not without her companions that is".

Mikan was about to slide the door open when someone suddenly grabbed her arm. "I'm sorry, Sakura-san but leaving while class is ongoing can lead you to detention", a young man, with short dirty blond hair and a pair of glasses covering his brown eyes, reminded her.

"And you are?", Mikan asked with a cold expression on her face.

"Uhh..I'm Tobita Yuu, the class representative of 3-B", he replied with a nervous expression on his face.

"Then, _Tobita Yuu_, if you know what's best for you, you should let go of my arm right this minute", Mikan whispered in a dangerous tone.

None of the students really heard what the two were talking about so they, especially the guys, were somewhat jealous of Yuu for having the audacity to approach Mikan. Well, none of them heard except Natsume and Ruka who was closest to the door and another girl with green permy hair.

The girl with green hair stood up with an aggravated expression on her face. She stomped towards Yuu and Mikan. She pulled Yuu's hands away from Mikan and stood between the two of them. "What the fuck's wrong with you?!", she asked, her face burning red with anger.

Everyone was now confused as to what was really happening. They watched Mikan and the green haired girl as they had a staring showdown. The girl was glaring hard at Mikan while Mikan just stood there, staring back at her.

"And just who are you?", Mikan asked icily.

The green-haired girl flinched a little bit after hearing the coldness of Mikan's voice. But she regained her composure as quick as a lightning bolt. "I'm Shouda Sumire and I just happened to be Yuu's close friend. You have absolutely no right to say that to him", she said.

Mikan luscious pink lips curved into an evil smirk. "And just who made that rule? Everyone here has a right to do what they want, _Permy"_, she especially emphasized the last word, hoping to irritate Sumire even more.

Sumire's hand shot up in the air, ready to slap her but someone caught her arm. She turned her attention to that 'someone' and she came face to face with a pair of crimson eyes. "N-N-Natsume-sama?", she stammered.

"Put your hand down, Shouda", he demanded with his usual cold voice.

"B-But-", Sumire was about to counter Natsume's words but her tongue got caught up when she saw Natsume's cold glare directed at her. She quickly put her hand down and slowly walked to her seat, dragging Yuu along with her.

"Hey, four eyes", Natsume called out and the class rep turned to him. "Y-Yes?", he nervously asked.

"I'm going out for a while and I'll be taking this idiotic girl with me", he announced. Before Yuu could even answer, he immediately dragged Mikan out the classroom, leaving behind even his bestfriend. The class fell silent for a good 2 minutes and as realization hit them, they shouted "Eh?" in unison.

The students quickly rushed to Ruka and bombarded him with questions.

"Nogi-kun, what just happened? What are those two's relationship?"

"Are they dating or something like that?"

"Nogi-kun, aren't you his bestfriend? Can't you tell us anything?"

Then a couple of 'Baka' shots rang in the air. Everyone's mouth shut and they turned to the raven haired girl who was now approaching them.

"If all of you don't shut up, I'll make sure your souls are sent to heaven", she threatened.

Everyone shuffled back to their seats and quietly started studying but they couldn't help but glance at the two who were having a conversation.

"Hey, bunny boy. Follow me", she commanded as she headed towards the door. The two slipped out of the classroom and decided to follow their best friends.

Natsume dragged Mikan to the garden at the back of the middle school building. They stopped under the Sakura tree.

"Why did you drag me here?", Mikan asked while glaring at Natsume. She tried to pull her arm away from Natsume's grip but it was no use. Natsume then suddenly pushed Mikan against the trunk of the tree and had both of his hands on each side of Mikan's head.

"What are you doing?", Mikan asked, still glaring at Natsume.

An evil smirk made its way on Natsume's lips. He leaned his head closer to her and stared directly into her eyes. His action somewhat made Mikan uncomfortable but of course, she would never show Natsume her uneasy expression.

Natsume leaned in even closer until Mikan could feel his breath on her face. And then, with a calm voice and a smirk, he whispered, "May I just remind you one thing. Right now, you're just a prisoner here in the academy so you better watch your actions".

_'What the heck is wrong with this guy? I'm already aware that the school's just keeping me as a prisoner. Seriously! Does he think I'm dumb?'_, Mikan thought as she continued to glare at Natsume.

"Oh..and one more thing, once you enter this academy, you can never get out. So you should give up trying to provoke the higher ups because that would definitely backfire at you. They will never let yo go. Well, at least while they still have some use for you",Natsume continued, still wearing the evil expression on his face. Of course, he expected to see some kind of weakness leak out from Mikan but to his surprise, she returned him with the same smirk he's wearing, or was that a smirk?

"I don't really care. It's not like I have anyone to go back to outside the school anyway", Mikan retorted with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

Natsume was taken aback by this. _'What is she talking about? She's got companions outside, right?!'_. In Natsume's irritation, he punched the part of the tree right next to Mikan's head. "Don't try to fool me. You clearly have AAO backing you up and you even risked yourself for them", he told Mikan, the venom evident in his voice.

Mikan laughed to the point of tears. Natsume stared at her in confusion. When Mikan finally regained her composure, she wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at Natsume. "I could care less about that dumb organization. The only reason I tried to protect them is because they're helping me fulfill my wish and so far, they've done a pretty good job".

"Wish? What are you talking abo-?". Before he could even finish, Mikan pushed him aside. "That...is none of your business".

Mikan looked coldly at him before turning around and leaving.

* * *

**Thank you for reading ^_^**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the late update! It was the last week of first grading period so we were given a STACK of things, like essays and stuff like that, to , I'd like to thank all those who continues to support my story! Thank you so much!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

It was already 12 in the afternoon and everyone at the academy was having lunch. This, of course, includes our three principals who were eating their own lunches at their own territories. The high school principal, for one, was eating his specially made chicken salad while doing his paper work. A sudden knock on his door interrupted him.

"Come in", he commanded.

The door opened and a man wearing glasses and a strict face came in. "HSP, I need to ask you something".

"What is it, Jinno?", HSP asked.

Jinno walked in front of the high school principal's desk. He slightly pushed his glasses up to the bridge if his nose and with his usual serious voice, he asked, "Why did you let the intruder enroll in the academy? Isn't she supposed to our enemy?".

HSP had his usual composed expression on. "I enrolled her because…"

* * *

Hotaru sat next to Mikan during lunch period. Being the triple star student that she is, Hotaru's lunch was magnificent. It was beyond decent. Mikan, on the other hand, only had a normal lunch for single star students since her star ranking hasn't decided yet. Truthfully, she was quite disappointed when she got her food.

"Hotaru, about the question this morning..", Mikan started. She was obviously curious about Hotaru's enrollment at the academy.

Hotaru faced her with her usual expressionless face. After sensing the determination in Mikan's eyes, she sighed. "I was enrolled at the academy ten years ago..exactly the day before the news of your family's disappearance".

The last thing Hotaru mentioned made Mikan flinch a little bit. _'How did she know about that? If she was brought here a day before 'that day' then she shouldn't be able to hear news about that. After all, connection and communication from the outside world gets cut off after entering this academy.', _she thought, not realizing that Hotaru was already reading her thoughts through the look in her eyes_._

"After that day, mom sent me a letter telling me what happened to your family though it was vague and confusing. The only thing she knew was that the police found blood tracks in your house and that your family, including you, were gone", Hotaru told her.

"I see", Mikan said in an unusual soft voice. Silence enveloped the two of them as they ate their food. Well, that was until two girls approached them.

"Uhm..h-hello Sakura-san, Imai-san", the two girls greeted. Mikan and Hotaru looked up from their food and stared at the two girls in front of them. They were the girls from Mikan and Hotaru's class.

"Uhh..can..can we sit with you two? There isn't any seat left..and we..uhhh..we..", one of the girls who had wavy pink hair and blue eyes stammered.

The two girls waited for Mikan and Hotaru's reply but to their disappointment, the two just stared at them with expressionless faces. They turned around and were ready to leave when someone suddenly spoke from behind them. They turned around once again, facing Mikan and Hotaru. "Eh?", they both asked in unison.

Mikan sighed. "I said you can sit if you want. It's not like we own this table. Do whatever you want", she said with a somewhat irritated expression on her face. She clearly doesn't like repeating her words twice.

Mikan's irritated expression and tone didn't faze the two girls at all as they smiled and happily sat to the seat facing Hotaru and Mikan. They then started trying to engage in a conversation with the two emotionless girls.

"Uhm..I believe we haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm-", the girl with pink hair started but was interrupted when Hotaru slightly raised her left hand and wiped her mouth with a table napkin using her right hand. The two girls stared at her with puzzled looks on their faces.

Hotaru put the napkin down and pointed her finger at the pink-haired girl. "Umenomiya Anna.. fifteen years old and is in the Technical ability class for having the cooking alice..was admitted at the academy at the age of three and has been best friends with Ogasawara Nonoko ever since she transferred a year after Anna came". The two girls stare at her in amazement.

Hotaru then turned to the other girl who had navy blue hair and eyes. "Ogasawara Nonoko. Same age and class as Umenomiya-san..was admitted at the academy a year after Umenomiya-san's arrival due to your chemistry alice..has been best friends with her for 11 years now. You were from a rich family if I'm not mistaken".

"Whoa. Imai-san, how did you know all that? This is our first time talking to each other, right?", the two asked enthusiastically.

Hotaru stared at the two and Mikan before saying in confidence, "I have my sources".

Mikan sighed at her best friend's usual attitude while Anna and Nonoko stared at Hotaru in amazement. "You two should stay away from her. You might get infected by her weirdness", Mikan told Anna and Nonoko.

"Oh? If I'm weird then what are you? You're the one who keeps _tons _of secrets", Hotaru countered.

Mikan glared at her and Hotaru glared back. The two of them shared a glaring contest for about two minutes until Anna and Nonoko decided to stop them.

"Uh..Sakura-san, Imai-san, can we ask about you two? We want to know more about you guys..", Nonoko asked but she hesitated for a second, hoping that she didn't cross a line or anything like that.

"And why should we do that?", Mikan asked.

Anna and Nonoko were taken aback by Mikan's question. They somehow thought that they might have just crossed the line and they won't be able to get close to both Mikan and Hotaru again. But they can't give up just yet. The two looked at each other and as if reading each other's minds, they nodded at the same time. The both of them faced Mikan and Hotaru with bright expressions on their faces. "Because we're friends!".

_'Friends..huh? It's been a long time since I heard that word'_. Mikan stared at the two. "Fine. I'm gonna tell you something about me..", she said as she leaned closer to the girls and with a small but serious voice, she continued, "I'm…a murderer".

After hearing Mikan's statement, all three of them, including Hotaru, felt a chill ran down their spine. Hotaru stared at Mikan intensely, trying to verify the truth based on Mikan's expression but unfortunately, she can't see anything in Mikan's eyes. Her eyes still had the same color but the warmth wasn't there. Mikan's earlier readable expression was gone, too. It was like an invisible mask covered Mikan's face, making her expressions unreadable.

Anna and Nonoko snapped from their shock and laughed. "Geez, Sakura-san, please don't joke like that! You almost had us there!", they told Mikan after their laughing fit settled down a bit.

Mikan faintly smiled. "Sorry about the lame joke", she said as she slowly sat down.

"AH! You smiled!", Anna and Nonoko exclaimed in unison gaining the attention of all the students in the cafeteria. They all turned their heads to Mikan, expecting to see the said smile on her face. Unfortunately, they missed the rare occasion. They all turned back to what they were doing while trying not to look at Mikan and Hotaru. It's been like this after rumors of Mikan's fierce personality spread around the school. Not that they don't like her anymore. It's just that they're not confident and brave enough to approach Mikan.

"It's the first time you smiled ever since you came here. A _rare _occasion indeed.", Hotaru commented as a glint appeared in her eyes. She was currently hiding a small camera right behind her back. Mikan somehow read what Hotaru meant as her attention suddenly snapped to her. "You didn't..", she said in a menacing voice.

"Oh..yes I did", Hotaru countered as a sly smirk appeared on her usually emotionless face.

_'Tsk..knowing her, she would've already sent it to her computer. And that computer would probably locked with a barricade of complicated passwords that even the most professional hacker would have trouble dealing with', _Mikan thought as she slowly calmed herself down.

Hotaru smiled at Mikan's reaction, though her smile was as quick as a flash of lightning. _'She knows me so well'_, she thought. And then her face turned back to her indifferent expression. _'It's a shame that I have a lot that I don't know about her_'.

The four of them stayed at their table for the rest of lunch period. Anna and Nonoko kept talking about some funny things and Mikan and Hotaru would comment from time to time when they felt like it.A few minutes later, the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch period and start of their math class. Everyone started heading for their classrooms.

"Ugh..it's Jinno's class next!", one boy, who was walking behind Mikan, Hotaru, Nonoko and Anna, complained.

* * *

Jinno was walking down the hallway. He had the same strict expression on his face but his mind was wondering somewhere else. He kept remembering the conversation he just had with the high school principal.

_-flashback-_

_"Why did you let the intruder enroll to the academy?Isn't se supposed to our enemy?", he asked._

_HSP had his usual composed expression on. "I enrolled her because…she has a rare alice", he answered straight forwardly._

_Jinno saw the emotion in his best friend's eyes and he frowned. "You can't fool me, Kazumi. I know that's not the only reason why you enrolled her"._

_HSP chuckled, "It's been a long time since you called me that"._

_"Don't try to change the subject! Tell me the truth!", Jinno demanded._

_Kazumi sighed. "Fine then. She..looks a lot like that girl"._

_"You mean..?", Jinno asked as his expression changed. He looks like he understood what Kazumi meant._

_"Yes. She looks a lot like the niece I've lost ten years ago", Kazumi said as he opened one of his drawers and took out a picture frame with a picture of a cute five years old little girl. _

_The girl in the picture had wavy brunette hair tied in twin pigtails and warm hazel brown eyes. She was wearing an orange frilly dress and a silver necklace with a cherry blossom pendant was around her neck. There was a small orange stone at the center of the silver cherry blossom pendant. The necklace looked good on her though it was too big for her._

_"I know she looks almost exactly like your niece but your niece has been missing for ten years. And there's been rumors saying that she's long been dead", Jinno said as he glanced at the picture the HSP was holding._

_Kazumi narrowed his eyes at Jinno. "That was a rumor. There's no evidence proving that"._

_Jinno was about to speak again when the bell suddenly rang._

_"I have more things to do. You're students are waiting for you", Kazumi said as he put the picture back in his drawer and started working on the papers in front of him._

-_-end of flashback-_

Jinno was brought back to reality when a student accidentally bumped into him. He glared at the student who apologized before scampering away from him. When he started walking again, his attention turned to Mikan who was walking with Hotaru, Anna, and Nonoko. They opened the door and Mikan was the last to come in.

Jinno gasped as he noticed the thing hanging around Mikan's neck. _'That's..the same necklace as HSP's niece!'_

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Oh..and review if you have the time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everyone! Here's my next chapter! Hope you enjoy it!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Jinno couldn't believe what he just saw! He slightly pushed his glasses up so he could rub his eyes. When he put it on again, Mikan was already entering the door and to his surprise, the necklace wasn't there anymore. _'Did I, perhaps, imagine it?'_, he asked himself.

He shook his head, thinking that he must really just have imagined it. _'Tsk..this is all that bastard Kazumi's fault. He should be grateful that he's the HSP or else I would've electrocuted him by now!'_

He then entered the classroom and slammed his things on the desk. "Get your books out and turn to page 34. We'll be discussing a new lesson today", he commanded with the same strict voice he always uses.

Jinno's lesson went on for an hour. Five minutes before class ended, Jinno left. The remaining five minutes served as free time for the students in class B.

During those five minutes, Mikan sat quietly in her seat. Many of the students were tempted to approach her but was too afraid to do so. They wouldn't want to be at the ending line of Mikan's fury. However, not all of them felt scared. Ruka, for one, called Mikan just to ask her how's her day.

"So-so", was Mikan's dull-sounding answer. Ruka couldn't help but smile. _'She's so much like Natsume'_, he thought.

Not just Ruka, but two other girls approached Mikan, too. They were none other than her new found friends, Anna and Nonoko.

"Hi, Mikan-chan!", the both of them cheerfully greeted.

"Hi", Mikan greeted back, her voice not as dull as before.

"Uhmm..Mikan-chan, did you get your p.e uniform already?", Anna asked.

"Yes..why?", Mikan asked.

"Well..we have p.e next, right? I just asked cuz we don't want you running down the tracks wearing a skirt, would we?". Anna couldn't help but smile at the thought of Mikan running outside wearing a skirt and the wind blowing as hard as it could.

"You're right. I wouldn't want some _pervert_ sneaking a peak at my underwear". She emphasized the word 'pervert' as she glanced at Natsume, who had his book covering his face. She then turned back to her friends. "Well, even if that were to happen, I'd be excited to kill the person who would dare sneak a peek at my or any other girl's underwear", she said with a shrug.

Just then, the sound of a book closing startled the girls. Mikan turned around to see Natsume leaving with his book in his right hand. Before leaving, Natsume glanced at Mikan and the edges of his lips curved into a small smirk. "Says the girl who can't even pull her wrist away from a mere grip", he muttered, loud enough for Mikan and two other girlsto hear. Anna and Nonoko's eyes travelled from Natsume and to Mikan, their expression clouded with confusion. Mikan, on the other hand, glared at him as she mouthed the word _'Jerk'_. Natsume smirked even more after seeing Mikan's reaction. He left the room with his best friend following behind him just as the bell rang.

"Oh! It's p.e!", Anna excitedly said, her confused expression replaced with an enthusiastic one. She and Nonoko grabbed Mikan's hand and started pulling her down the steps and towards Hotaru who's waiting for them by the doorway. "Come on, Mikan-chan! We need to get to the locker room!", Anna and Nonoko urged.

"I'm coming. No need to be so loud", Mikan said but she couldn't help but smile at her friends cheerfulness. _'Is this what it feels like to have real friends. I wish I could be like them..so cheerful and...warm'_.

* * *

Mikan and her three friends walked out the locker room and into the field after getting dressed for five minutes. They were greeted by the strong gush of wind and warm sunlight. _'Good thing I really did have my p.e uniform'_, Mikan thought. She wasn't completely covered up though since her shorts were quite short and most of her legs were exposed.

The four of them started walking towards where the other students were. Anna and Nonoko were walking with their arms linked. They were also humming a cheerful song which Mikan didn't recognize. Mikan and Hotaru, on the other hand, were walking behind them with their usual emotionless faces and intimidating demeanor.

When the students saw them, their jaws practically dropped except for Natsume, who doesn't care, and Permy, who of course hates Mikan until now. The boys ogled at the four girls, especially Mikan, when they saw the four girls' slim and well toned legs and thighs. The girls, on the other hand, just stared at them in admiration. They gawked for as long as they could until Hotaru finally got out her Baka-gun from who knows where and pointed it at the idiotic students. They gasped before finally turning around and pretending to do something. Anna and Nonoko glanced at Hotaru. "Hotaru-chan, where did you get that gun from?", Nonoko asked curiously. Mikan stifled a giggle after hearing the _chan _at the end of Hotaru's name.

"Don't call me _Hotaru-chan_, Nonoko and don't you dare let out that laugh you're restraining, Mikan", Hotaru warned as she glared at Mikan who was still stifling a laugh. She then turned her attention at the two adorable girl once again. "And as for my gun, I bring it everywhere with me. Though the question where I getit from is something you should figure out yourselves", Hotaru replied back.

"I-I see..", Nonoko stuttered. She was shocked to see Hotaru's scary side again. She initially thought that Hotaru would be much more friendlier to them after having their friendly moment at the cafeteria but she thought wrong. Hotaru's still as dull, emotionless, cold, and scary as before. But they still liked her despite her cold personality.

A loud whistle startled all the students. They turned their attention to the field where the sound came from. Standing there was a woman with long, straight, dark olive colored-hair tied in a ponytail and a pair of glasses covering her olive green eyes. She was beautiful and elegant looking despite wearing simple black sweatpants, a white t-shirt topped with a black non-hooded zip up jacket, and a pair of white sneakers. She was holding a soccer ball on her right hand and a whistle in her left hand. She had a stern look in her eyes that made the students shiver.

"Everyone, finish two laps around the tracks within 2 minutes", she commanded.

Everyone, including Mikan, ran without any complaints. It took all of them 1 and half minutes to finish the laps. When they returned to where their teacher stood, the teacher tossed the ball to Mikan. Mikan looked at her in an almost confused way though it was barely noticeable.

"Today all of you will be playing soccer. You will now divide yourselves into two teams and choose your leader. Make sure your leader is someone who's responsible, fast and well...strong", the teacher reminded her students.

Everyone shuffled and started dividing themselves. Mikan and Hotaru just stood at the side as the others started grouping themselves. Anna and Nonoko had already found a group on their own. Mikan and Hotaru had mentally decided that they won't join the game until...

"Mikan-chan! Imai-san! Come join our group!", Anna and Nonoko called out.

Hotaru looked at Mikan for a second, trying to see if she's joining. Mikan sensed this and she sighed, "There's no way I'm gonna join that lousy game, Hotaru".

"Why? Not confident that you can win?", a familiar voice asked in a rather mocking manner.

Mikan spun around to see Natsume standing behind her along with Ruka. He had his hands in his pocket and a smirk was on his face. Mikan's blood boiled at the sight of his mocking smirk. "What did you say?", Mikan asked, the venom evident in her voice.

"You don't want to play because you know you're gonna lose, right…_Polka_?", Natsume smirked as he leaned his face closer to Mikan's. He enjoys pissing Mikan off and he would probably never get tired of it.

Mikan knew what Natsume was trying to do and she swore that she wouldn't give Natsume the pleasure of seeing her pissed off. She put her hands on her hips and smirked. "And who said I can't play?"

Natsume scoffed as he finally moved his face away from hers. "Prove it then".

Mikan poked his chest with her finger. "Fine..but don't cry when you lose", she mocked.

Natsume smirked. "Same goes to you".

* * *

The game occupied their whole class period. It was a very intense game with each team refusing to give the other even a single point. Natsume had just kicked a goal and gained another point for their group. All his team mates cheered for him and Ruka gave him a high five. Natsume glanced at Mikan and gave her a smirk that clearly said 'you're gonna lose'.

"Tch", Mikan clicked her tongue in irritation. "I'm not gonna let him score a goal again", she said as she clenched her fist.

"Mikan, less talk, more action", Hotaru reminded her as she tightened her shoelaces.

Mikan nodded in agreement as she tied her hair in a ponytail. _'Time to take this seriously. I'm not gonna lose to that bastard'_. She ran after the person who was currently dribbling the ball. That person kicked the ball to his other teammate but before his team mate could get it, Mikan snatched the ball. She dribbled the ball to the opposite direction where the opposite team's goal would be. She avoided every enemy who tried to take the ball away from her. She scanned the area and saw Hotaru nod at her from the other side. She kicked the ball to Hotaru and Hotaru passed it to their other teammates. While the enemies where chasing after the ball, Mikan dashed to where the goal would be and waved her hand at her teammate who was dribbling the ball. The girl kicked the ball to her and Mikan caught it with one fluid movement from her legs.

The field was fairly big and Mikan was still a bit far away from the goal. She dribbled the ball again and avoided any of the enemies who blocked her way. She saw Natsume and Ruka running slightly ahead of her, trying to find the chance to snatch the ball away from her. She was about to kick the ball but someone suddenly snatched it from her. Her legs swung forward and she lost balance. Natsume ran to her to stop her fall but he was pulled instead. As a result, Mikan was now lying on the ground with her eyes shut closed and with a shocked Natsume on top of her. Each of his arms were on each side of her head and one of his legs were in between her legs.

All the students gasped at their position. Hotaru was already secretly taking pictures and Ruka, on the other hand, stood there frozen as hell.

Mikan slowly opened her eyes and her eyes widened when she was faced with a pair of crimson staring down at her. She saw the position they were in and her instinct kicked in. She shot her knees up, effectively hitting Natsume where it would hurt the most.

Natsume rolled to the side as a series of colorful words escaped his mouth. He was groaning in pain and Mikan couldn't help but smirk. "You deserve it..pervert", she muttered.

Ruka finally snapped from his shock and ran to Natsume's side. He then stared at Mikan, "Ah..Sakura-san, it's not what you think it is. He didn't try to take advantage of you or anything like that. You accidentally pulled him along with you when you fell and it resulted to him being on top of you", he tried explaining.

Mikan was a bit taken aback. She didn't really saw what happened but she doesn't remember pulling Natsume along with her though. _'I suppose I might be wrong but I won't admit that. Heck…seeing him like that is surprisingly satisfying'_, she thought but she didn't say anything. She just stared at Natsume who was still groaning and Ruka who was trying to help him.

"What happened here?", the familiar stern voice asked.

Everyone turned their heads to their teacher who was tapping her foot on the grass with her arms crossed over her chest. Sumire ran to the teacher's side and explained the situation but of course, she said it in a way that made Mikan look bad. "Sensei, Sakura-san here..", she started as she pointed to Mikan. "_intentionally_ kneed Natsume-sama in the-ahem- crotch", she explained as a small blush crept on her face when she said the last word.

The teacher turned to Mikan. "Is that true, Sakura-san?", she asked.

"Yes, but-", Mikan was about to explain when the teacher suddenly cut her off. "Sakura-san, as punishment for what you did, you will take Hyuuga-kun to the clinic right now", she commanded, her voie much stricter than before. When she saw Mikan was about to open her mouth again, she spoke once again. "And no buts!".

Mikan closed her mouth and stared at Natsume. Natsume had stopped groaning in pain and was smirking at her. Ruka had an apologetic expression on his face. Hotaru was clearly amused and Sumire, well, let's just say she's burning in anger because her plan backfired at her.

_'Agghh!i_, Mikan mentally screamed as she witnessed the smirk on Natsume's face._'He's not hurt anymore! He's enjoying this! The bastard..!'_.

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**So how was it? Review if you have the time! ^_^**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys...and girls! Here's another chapter! Hope you enjoy it! And thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows! You people are the best! ^_^  
**

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**Chapter 8**

The walk to the infirmary seemed like hours and Mikan was on the verge of screaming her lungs out in frustration. But, knowing Mikan, she would rather jump out the second floor window than do that. Aside from the fact that walking to the infirmary was boring, she also had to carry Natsume all the way to it. Imagine Mikan's horror! Her walking her biggest enemy to the clinic, with his left arm around her shoulder and Mikan's right arm on his waist for the sole purpose of supporting him, would be the most outrageous thing that has ever happened to Mikan.

"Hey. Stop spacing out, Polka",Natsume stated, snapping Mikan out of her thoughts. By the sound of his voice, Mikan knew that he was still in pain.

"I'm not spacing out, perverted Hyuuga", Mikan retorted. She slightly smirked when she saw Natsume's eyes twitch.

Before Natsume could say anything more, they stopped right in front of the clinic door. Mikan was tempted to just shove Natsume inside the clinic and leave but she kind of felt guilty. Weird, huh? The best killing machine in AAO felt pity and guilt for hurting her archenemy. Now that's what you call weird. Not to mention..scary.

Mikan's right arm left Natsume's waist and proceeded to opening the door. She quickly put her arm around his waist again to prevent him from falling over. She escorted him to the nearest bed and made him lay there.

"Ugh", Natsume groaned as he slowly pulled his lower half up on the bed. "Where's the nurse?", he asked, his voice back to his normal indifferent tone.

Mikan raised an eyebrow. _'This guy..he's still in pain yet he can talk like he's not hurt anymore. He's really fit to be this academy's trump card. He's interesting..'_, she thought as a faint smile made its way to her lips. It's unfortunate that Natsume didn't notice it. "I don't think she's here right now. Stay here. I'm gonna call the nurse", she said as she spun around. She was about to walk when a hand grasped her wrist.

"There's no time for that", he stated calmly.

Mikan turned around to face him with a slightly annoyed expression on her face. "What do you expect me to do then?", she asked.

"Get me ice". Natsume pointed to the other side of the clinic where all the medicines and other medical stuff where.

Mikan stared at him for a second, thinking whether he should follow him or not. Her tiny conscience advised her to follow him because she was the one who kneed him in the groin but her stubborn pride told her not to because it would look like she just became Natsume's slave. She weighed her choices and unfortunately, her conscience won.

Mikan closed her eyes and sighed in defeat. When she opened her eyes, she stared at Natsume with cold eyes. "This is the last time I'm gonna let you order me around, you get that?".

"Yeah, whatever. Just get me the freaking ice", Natsume said as he waved her off.

Mikan's eyes twitched at his actions but nonetheless headed off to the fridge at the corner of the clinic. She opened it and took out an ice pack. She then walked back to Natsume and threw it at him. For a minute there, she wished it would hit Natsume on the face but to her dismay, Natsume caught it with ease.

"Throwing something at a sick person. How mature..", Natsume said sarcastically as he held the ice pouch in his hands.

"Hyuuga, do I look like I care?", Mikan retorted as she put one hand on her hips. "And don't you think you should be thankful. Considering that I walked you here, guided you to that bed and even gave you an ice pouch since the doctor is not her and you're too _weak _to walk by yourself".

Natsume scoffed, "I don't have to thank you. It was your fault I was like this in the first place".

"Hey, it was you who tried to harass me, you perverted crimson eyed monster!", Mikan defended.

Natsume looked at her incredulously. "Are you really that stupid? I thought Ruka already explained it to you? _You _pulled me when you're about to fall and that's why I landed on top of you".

"Like I'll believe that", Mikan said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And I don't ever recall pulling you", she added.

Natsume sighed. "This is going nowhere. No matter how much I explain it, if the person's stupid, this conversation won't go anywhere", he muttered as he rubbed his forehead and laid back down.

Mikan spun around and was about to _really _leave when Natsume spoke again. "One last thing, close the curtains", he muttered rather calmly as he put his arms over his closed eyes. After a few minutes, he heard shuffling and the slam of the door. When he opened his eyes and sat up, the curtains around his bed was closed. He smiled to himself. _'She said she's never gonna do anything for me again but in the end, she still did. She may not be as bad as I thought. Interesting..'_, he thought as he looked at the ice pouch he had in his hands and the smile still stuck on his lips.

* * *

Mikan walked through the hallway, or should I say _stomped_? She was perplexed at her actions and at the same time, annoyed. How could she, who was known for being a cruel, merciless murderer, help another person and her enemy at that. _'What the hell did I just did? I told him I'm never gonna help him again and yet, I still closed that curtain for him. FOR HIM! What was I thinking?! Now he's gonna think he could easily order me around'_, she thought as a low growl escaped her lips.

She continued walking through the hallway and after a few seconds, she noticed that everything was silent. Not a single voices or footsteps heard. She walked faster, obviously feeling uncomfortable due to the silence. She turned around a corner and in her peripheral vision, she saw someone following her. She walked faster and as she did, she heard another set of footsteps matching her pace. She turned a corner once again and found the ladies room. She quickly entered and hid in one of the stalls. _'How could I not notice his presence? Is my instincts getting duller?'_. To test if her thought was right, she closed her eyes and focused on her surroundings. She heard the clicking of shoes pass the restroom, where she's in, and finally disappear through the hallway. She opened her eyes and sighed._ 'My instincts hasn't dulled yet. But who could that be?_ _And why was he following me?'_, she thought. _'Ah..I should probably head back to my room. He's left for now but in case he comes back, my room would be safer than the empty hallways'. _

She stood up and slowly opened the stall lock. She walked out of the stall and was shocked to see a tall grey haired boy standing by the doorway. He was leaning against the wall with his arms over his chest and a stoic expression on his face. "Y-Youichi?", she stuttered.

"Mikan-nee".His voice was covered with indifference yet if you watch his eyes carefully, you would probably see the sadness and longing in his eyes.

"What are you doing here?", she asked, her voice stoic and cold.

Youichi pushed himself off the wall and walked over to Mikan. He stood just a few inches away from Mikan and his tall figure casted a shadow on her. "The organization sent me".

"What for?",she asked once again.

"To bring you back"

"Why? Did something happen?",she asked, her face still emotionless and uncaring.

"Nothing special really", Youichi shrugged.

Mikan knew that there was something wrong with Youichi. She has known Youichi, and Shou since they were kids and she would know, even with one look, if there's something wrong with them. **(A/N:If you don't know who Shou is, refer to Chapter 2) **And that was what's exactly happening right that minute. Mikan put her hand on her hips and narrowed her eyes at Youichi. "Yeah, right. If the organization really sent you here just to get me, then there must be some kind of serious problem".

Youichi stared back at her and sighed. "You never change Mikan-nee".

"Youichi, spit it out before I wring your neck", Mikan commanded, her voice soaked with venom.

"He's back"

Mikan raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you talking about? Who's _he_?", she asked, still perplexed at Youichi's answer.

"The head of the organization and the one who started this war between AAO and Alice Academy"

Mikan felt chills ran up her spine and her heart sank to the pitless abyss inside her body. "Y-you mean _him_?", she stuttered.

Youichi nodded. "Yeah..._him_. The guy you,Shou and I hate the most". Youichi spoke so calmly that Mikan find what he was saying hard to believe.

"But wasn't he supposed to be dead?", Mikan asked.

"Apparently, he never died. He faked his death and hid for years to regenerate his body and alice"

"And why do the organization want me back right now? What do they need me for?"

"He wants to talk to you and by the look in his eyes, I know he's planning something. I'm just not sure what it is",Youichi said. After a few seconds, he continued, "So Mikan-nee, we have to come ba-".

"I'm not going. I haven't finished my mission yet", Mikan cut him off. She remembered all the bad memories she experienced because of that man. She was clearly aware that she's using her mission as an excuse, but what better choice did she have? Even though Alice Academy was her enemy's territory, she felt much safer there.

"Mikan-nee, I know you don't want to go back and meet that asshole but you know him. He's just gonna sent other people to get you. You know fully what he's capable of doing", Youichi said, his stoic mask slipping off his face. There was a hint of concern in his voice.

Mikan was rendered speechless. _'Youichi's right..'_, she thought as she remembered all the bad things that man made her experience. Her hand involuntarily shot to her other arm. Her body had grown pale and cold. For the first time in seven years, she didn't know what to do. Her thoughts were in jumbles and her body was feeling weak.

After what seemed like forever, Mikan's indifferent expression came back. It was like she had suddenly regained all her lost courage. She looked strong again and even a single spark of emotion was gone from her eyes. She slipped her hands in the pocket of her blazer and stared at Youichi. "Go back, Youichi. Tell them that I'm gonna come back once I've decided to".

Youichi nodded and a faint smile appeared on his lips. "Alright, I understand", he said. He spun around and was ready to walk out the door when a hand gripped his arm. He glanced behind him and found Mikan. He was about to open his mouth and speak but Mikan cut him off.

"One more thing, please be careful. Both you and Shou", she reminded. When she saw Youichi smile and nod, she let go of his arm.

Youichi walked through the hallway while avoiding contact with anyone at the same time. He was thinking about a lot of things that he failed to notice the raven haired girl walking his way. They bumped into each other and the girl tumbled backwards on the floor.

"Ow", she growled as she rubbed the part that was mostly hurt by the fall.

Youichi reached his hand out to help the girl. A pair of cold amethyst eyes met Youichi's blue grey eyes. "Sorry. Do you need help?", he asked, his hand still held out.

The girl ignored his hand and stood up on her own. She dusted her clothes and when she finished, she looked up at Youichi once again. "You..I don't think I've seen you here", she told him.

"I'm a new student", Youichi answered as quickly as he could. He then slightly bowed his head as a goodbye and walked past the raven-haired girl.

The girl watched him as his figure slowly shrank as he walked further away. Soon, his figure was completely gone. The girl took out a device from her pocket and punched in a few letters and numbers. A list of files appeared from the small cellphone-like device. She tapped one of them that said 'transfer students'. She scrolled down and her eyes quickly scanned each of the people's faces. _'Not here'_.

She slipped the device back into her pocket and turned her head to the direction where the stranger had gone. _'Who's that person? And what's his motive for coming here and pretending to e a student?'_, she wondered.

"Imai-san!", familiar cheerful sounding voices called out to the girl who was still standing in the middle of the hallway. They ran to her and smiled when Hotaru was finally snapped out of her thoughts.

"Anna, Nonoko, what are you doing here?", Hotaru asked the two cheerful girls in front of her.

"You said you wanted to follow Mikan. We're here because we want to go, too. What are you looking at anyway?", Anna asked as she looked at the direction where Hotaru was earlier looking at.

Hotaru shook her head. "Nothing. Come on. We're going to Mikan, remember?", she reminded as she slightly pushed Anna and Nonoko to the direction of the infirmary.

Before leaving completely, she stole one last glance at the direction where the guy had left. _'I'm not done with you yet. I'm definitely gonna find out who you are'_.

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**Thanks for reading! I'll to update as fast as I can next time! Please review if you have the time.. ^_^  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! Once again, I'm sorry for the late update! You now high school students-they're busy almost all the time! Btw, I re-read Gakuen Alice once again and oh my fudge! It's still as awesome as the first time I read it! ^_^**

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**Chapter 9**

Anna, Nonoko, and Hotaru kept sending Mikan suspicious and worried stares as the brunette absentmindedly stabbed her food with her fork. They've been continuously wondering what had happened to Mikan after she escorted Natsume to the infirmary. Three days had passed since then and Mikan was still acting unlike her old self. She's been quiet-not to mention _dazed_-ever since then, not uttering a single word to anybody unless she's spoken to. Even Natsume and Ruka, who were both her seatmates found it weird. Ruka had tried talking to her but as for Natsume, well you know him. He doesn't involve himself in other's business unless it's required.

"Mikan-chan", Anna called for the umpteenth time. Mikan finally snapped from her thoughts. She looked up at her worried friends with an straight expression pasted on her face. "Hm?", she asked, oblivious to the fact that her friends have been trying to talk to her since school started.

"You've been stabbing the poor slice of meat for quite a while now", Anna informed her with worry in her voice.

Mikan looked down to her food and realized that Anna was right. She's been poking the piece of meat for so many times that it's already lost its shape. However, Mikan still seemed out of it. She continued looking at her food as a soft "Oh" escaped her lips.

"Mikan-chan, did Hyuuga-kun do something to you last Friday? Ever since you came back from your trip to the infirmary, you've been out of it. It's like you don't hear us at all". Nonoko's expression was soaked with worry as she watched Mikan drift into a daze once again.

Finally, Hotaru couldn't stand it anymore. She stood up and slammed her hand on the table. All heads in the cafeteria turned their attention to the four girls' table. Even Natsume, Ruka, Mochu, Koko and Kitsuneme, who were sitting on the table beside them, looked shock at Hotaru's sudden outburst. Well, who couldn't blame them? Hotaru Imai wasn't one to easily lose composure like that.

Mikan looked up from her food and a tinge of shock was in her eyes. "Hotaru, what are yo-". She wasn't able to finish her question when Hotaru suddenly gripped her wrist and dragged her out of the cafeteria. Hotaru's actions earned the curiosity of almost all the students in the cafeteria except for Natsume, Ruka, Anna and Nonoko, who pretty much figured out what Hotaru's gonna do next. After Hotaru and Mikan were out of sight, Natsume caught sight of Anna and Nonoko whispering about something, standing up from their seat, and walking to the direction Hotaru and Mikan had just taken.

"Something interesting is about to take place", Natsume mumbled to himself which earned his bestfriend's attention.

"Did you say something, Natsume?", Ruka asked as he stopped midway from taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Nothing", Natsume said nonchalantly.

Ruka shrugged at his best friend's nonchalance before taking a bite of his food.

* * *

Hotaru shoved Mikan inside an empty classroom and locked the door behind her.

"Hota-"

"Mikan, I know something's been bothering you. Since you didn't seem to want to talk in a public area, I guessed this room would be good. Now spill it". Hotaru's voice was filled with authority with a menacing aura seeping out of her.

But Mikan wasn't shaken. Not even one bit. She just stared at Hotaru emotionless. After a few minutes, she broke off the eye contact and shook her head. "There's nothing bothering me Hotaru. I'm just…tired", Mikan told her calmly.

Hotaru narrowed her eyes at Mikan. Even though she hasn't seen Mikan for ten years, she could still remember those days they spent together when they were kids. Even before, Mikan had always had the habit of lying about what she was really feeling in order for people not to worry about her. Hotaru had also been a very good observant. After a couple of days she had spent with Mikan, she was able to jot down everything that's changed in Mikan and so far, she had concluded that Mikan's old habit of lying about her condition never changed.

_-Flashback-_

_A five-year-old Mikan sat in her backyard and doodled on her small notebook. She was so busy drawing that she hadn't sensed her best childhood friend sneaking behind her until... _

_"OW!",Mikan yelped as she rubbed the back of her body where she had been hit. "Hotaru-chan, what was that for?!", she screeched as she spun around to face a five-year-old Hotaru._

_"It's your fault for letting me sneak up behind you. And don't you add -chan after my name, idiot"_

_"You're so mean!"_

_"I know and I'm proud of it. Anyway, why were you spacing out? And drawing? You never drew before. What happened to you?", Hotaru asked as she focused her attention on Mikan who slightly flinched at her question. Then suddenly...  
_

_Mikan burst out laughing to the point of tears. "Hotaru, geez..just because I'm drawing it doesn't mean something's wrong with me. I'm just bored, okay?", Mikan said through fits of laugh. To the eyes of a bystander, Mikan does look happy but to Hotaru, Mikan's current action was just weird._

_"I don't believe you. I know something's wrong. Spill it"_

_Mikan stopped laughing as tears started building up in her eyes. Before Hotaru knew it, Mikan was already wailing like a baby.  
Hotaru sighed before crouching down next to her best friend and patting her on the head. "Geez, you're such a crybaby. Stop crying. You look 10 times uglier when you cry", Hotaru muttered as she continued patting Mikan's head.  
_

_A minute and a half later, Mikan finally stopped crying. She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at Hotaru. Mikan invited Hotaru inside their house and that's when Hotaru found out that the dog, she and Mikan had been playmates with since the age of three, was ran over by a car just a day ago._

_"You should have told me sooner, idiot. You shouldn't have even pretended you were okay when you're not"_

_"I'm sorry, Hotaru. I just-"_

_"didn't want to worry anyone", Hotaru continued which was accompanied her the roll of her eyes. She then sighed. "Sometimes I wonder why I'm even friends with you. You're such an idiot"_

_Mikan huffed at her best friend's offending comment. And their usual 'best friend bickering moment' started once again._

_-End of flashback-_

Hotaru sighed, "Mikan, you're still a very bad liar".

Mikan was a bit taken aback. "I'm not lying", she insisted. She knew fairly well that Hotaru wouldn't buy her claim but she still hoped that Hotaru would just let it slip and let her be because she, herself, knew that she couldn't keep her strong demeanor for long. But her wish wasn't granted when Hotaru's piercing amethyst eyes narrowed at her once again. "Mikan, you can tell me anything that's bothering you. I'm your best friend. You can trust me", Hotaru assured, hoping that Mikan would give in and tell her what's been bothering her.

And at last, Mikan's indifferent demeanor shattered. She fell on her knees like every ounce of strength she had been saving up just went down the drain. Hotaru was more worried now than ever. _'Mikan's….crying?'_, she asked herself, unable to believe that the cold and indifferent Mikan she had reunited with, just a few day ago, could cry and show her weakness once again. She knew Mikan retained her habit of denying her true feelings but she had no idea that Mikan had her crybaby-self deep within her. She thought Mikan's indifferent self was permanent, after all, many things had happened in the past ten years that even Hotaru doesn't have a single idea on. But Mikan who was shedding tears right now proved that her belief was wrong. No matter what happened to Mikan for the past ten years they were apart, Mikan will always be Mikan. With only a few changes added, of course.

Hotaru crouched beside Mikan and gripped Mikan's shoulders. "Mikan…hey..why are you crying? What's wrong?". Hotaru was now worried. Mikan's body was trembling really badly like something was scaring the shit out of her. She was now _dying _to know the reason behind the 180 degrees change in Mikan's attitude.

"Ho..taru…I..I", Mikan muttered through continues sobs. Her body was still trembling badly and she had to grip her arms with her hand to try and stop her body from shaking but it was no use. She felt her vision getting blurry as more tears accumulated in her eyes.

"What is it?", Hotaru asked in the most gentle voice she could. She stroked Mikan's long hair to try and calm her down. This action always calmed Mikan when they were young which Hotaru found to be interesting. Fortunately, the stroke of her hands on Mikan's hair seemed to calm Mikan even for a tiny bit. When Mikan had finally regained some of her calmness back-and I said _some- _, in the best voice she could muster, she muttered the two words that surprised Hotaru even more.

"I-I'm…..scared", Mikan admitted in a soft voice.

Hotaru, now, had a confused expression on her face. "Of what?", she asked. _'What could possibly scare her to the point of tears?'_.

"The..day when I took Hyuuga to the infirmary…I-I met one of the guys from AAO. H-he told..me that '_that man'_ was back. I-I'm scared Hotaru…I don't know what _'that man'_ would do to me if I came back..". Mikan was slowly regaining her composure. She wasn't sobbing like crazy anymore but the trembling of her body was still evident.

Hotaru stared at Mikan with a confused expression once again. "Who's _'that man'_? And what did he do to make you so scared of him?", she asked.

Mikan flinced at her bestfriend's question. She was hesitant and Hotaru could see that, but she really wanted to know who Mikan was talking about. She was also hoping that by telling her about this, Mikan's burden would be lessened.

Mikan took a deep intake of breath and sighed. She stared at Hotaru with a completely serious expression on her face. "He's the head of AAO and he was the one who turned me into a cruel murderer", she stopped momentarily to glance at Hotaru's reaction after what she had just revealed.

Hotaru's eyes widened after hearing the last word Mikan had just spurted out. _'A murderer? I never heard of this before? Mikan…what happened while you were gone?'_, she wondered as she scanned Mikan. Hotaru nodded her head at Mikan, urging her best friend to go on with the story.

"I...I don't remember much about what happened during that time but I did remember the fact that I was an orphan. At that time, I was wondering around aimlessly with no where to go to and that's when I bumped into him. He picked me off the street and raised me. I became close to him since he was nice like a father. But that...didn't last. After a few months, I saw his true color. More kid, who were about the same age as me, came. He claimed that he was AAO's head. At that time, I didn't know what AAO was so I didn't care. He trained us every single day and those who can't keep up with the training were always punished...", Mikan dragged on as she glanced at Hotaru once again, the fear evident in her eyes. Then, she continued, "The punishments weren't the usual one that you would get from your parents or teachers. It was _scary_, Hotaru. And _horrifying._ But as much as I hated it, I grew accustomed to it. The fact that they'd always remind me of my parents and how I should avenge them didn't help either...", Mikan momentarily stopped as she dreaded for the words that are at the tip of her tongue and are threatening to burst out. Even Hotaru felt the sinking feeling in her stomach when she guessed the words that Mikan was about to say.

Mikan took a deep breath and sighed before continuing her story. "Before I knew it, I became a cruel, merciless murderer. So I won't blame you Hotaru if you ha-". Before she could finish, Hotaru pulled her into a hug. "Idiot. I won't hate you. You were forced to kill those people because those were orders from your superior. They manipulated you into killing those people. It's not your fault. You were a kid back then. It's not your fault, Mikan".

Mikan pulled away from Hotaru with a frown on her face. She argued, "You don't understand, Hotaru. I knew what I was getting myself into back then. I was clearly aware of that yet I didn't leave. Deep down, I knew I was gonna be a murderer. It's better if you don't get yourself involved with me because-"

"What? You'll kill me?", Hotaru asked as she arched an eyebrow at Mikan.

"-you might get hurt", Mikan continued as if Hotaru hadn't interrupted her. She sighed before continuing again. "_That_ man I was talking about might hurt you or Anna or Nonoko. I don't want- OW!", Mikan screeched as she rubbed the lump on her head."Hotaru, why did you hit me?!". She glared at Hotaru, who wore an unusual horse hoof glove on her right hand.

"It's your fault, idiot. Do you seriously think that we're too weak to not be able to protect ourselves. Mikan, you're underestimating us"

"No Hotaru. You're underestimating him. He's strong and fearful. I was able to enter this place and I'm sure he's more than capable of doing that"

"And we were able to catch you and detain you here. What makes you so sure that he can harm us and get out of the academy alive?", Hotaru retorted.

"Hota-"

"If you don't stop arguing with me, I swear I'm gonna knock you out with a tranquilizer", Hotaru threatened but was taken aback when Mikan suddenly smiled at her and hugged her.

"You're so troublesome, Hotaru. But thank you..for believing in me. I'm glad you're my best friend", Mikan muttered.

Hotaru smiled faintly. "And you're an idiot", she retorted, partly convinced that Mikan would retort with an insult directed to her. To her surprise, Mikan just giggled softly. Hotaru couldn't help but smile. _'She's back to the Mikan I knew before'_, she thought. Hotaru's attention then diverted to the door and sighed. Mikan pulled away from the hug and followed Hotaru's gaze.

"Someone's been eavesdropping", Mikan whispered. Hotaru nodded in agreement. They were pretty sure who the people were eavesdropping outside. _'Those two..'_, Mikan and Hotaru thought at the same time as they walked towards the door. Mikan gripped the handled and threw the door open. Two girls fell forward and a loud chorus of ow's came from them.

"You two alright?", Mikan asked though her voice was far from being worried.

The two girls pushed themselves off the wooden floor and faced Mikan and Hotaru with nervous grins on their faces. "H-hi M-Mikan-chan, H-H-Hotaru", Anna and Nonoko stuttered as they tried hard to think of possible ways to explain their current situation to Mikan and Hotaru who both looked intimidating by the second.

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**How was it? I'm so sorry I wasn't able to add any NatsuxMikan moments here. I'll try putting some or possibly dedicating the entirety of the next chapter to Natsume and Mikan, okay? Btw, I'd love to know what you thought about this chapter so leave a review if you'd like! Oh and if you have some ideas on how the next chapter should look like, you're free to PM me. Thank you for reading! ^_^ **


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